Goodbye to FCC's Indecency Policy?

What Words CAN you Say on the Radio and Did that Change Today?

There was huge news today about the future of the FCC's indecency policy. The United States Court of Appeals Struck down the policy in a decision that may have a huge impact on broadcasters. On Radio Survivor I went into greater detail about this news, but for now, radio stations would be wise to wait and see before opening up the floodgates of swear words and raunchy material.

The good news, as I see it, is that the appeals court found that the FCC's vague descriptions of indecency have proven to be a threat to First Amendment rights and have had the potential to harm both artists and broadcasters. I recommend reading the entire decision, as it gives a lot of background into how the indecency rules have evolved and provides specific examples of recent rulings that are now called into question.

FCC Grants New Non-Comm Radio Licenses, But Few Go to College Radio

On Radio Survivor I just reported on the great news this week that the FCC had finally awarded licenses for full-power educational FM stations to 59 organizations. Back in 2007 a licensing window briefly opened and non-profit groups were allowed to submit applications in the hopes of being granted a new license.

After a head-ache inducing scan of the FCC's PDF grid of the applicants and winners, I was pretty bummed to realize that college radio was not well represented. I guess I shouldn't be all the surprised, as it can be quite costly to get a station up and running. But it was also disheartening that religious groups continued their left-of-the-dial takeover, obtaining more of the new licenses than community groups, public radio organizations, or universities.

Gaston College Station Fined by FCC for Public File Violation

Over on Radio Survivor I just reported the sad tale about Gaston College radio station WSGE getting fined $8,000 by the FCC for having an improperly maintained public file and for not making that file available to the public.

This is a good reminder to all college radio stations: double check that your public file is up to date and make sure that all DJs and staff know where it is and how to handle requests from the public!

There are folks out there making it their job to monitor stations for FCC violations (both on and off the air), so it's best to not give them anything to complain about.

Radio Station Field Trip 17 - FCCFreeRadio in San Francisco

On Monday I had the opportunity to check out a brand new low power FM (LPFM) radio station in San Francisco called FCCFreeRadio.

Located in a secret South of Market (SOMA) location, FCCFreeRadio is a micropower community radio station (they shy away from the term "pirate radio") that is broadcasting both online and at 107.3 FM without a license from the FCC. According to their website they believe that the U.S. government has granted emergency authority for broadcasters to operate without a license during time of war, including the current "war against terrorism."

Board at FCCFreeRadio

The station has been on the air since January 24th, 2009, although the studios have only been recently built. The first live show from the current studio took place on May 30th.

It was exciting to visit such a new station and it's encouraging to me that there are people who believe in radio so strongly that they are willing to start up a new terrestrial station. Thanks so much to General Manager John Miller and Program Director John Hell for taking the time to show me around their new digs.

John Hell and John Miller

Both John Miller and John Hell are enthusiastic supporters of radio and have extensive broadcast experience. Between the two of them they have worked in college radio, community radio at LPFM stations (they were both at Pirate Cat Radio in San Francisco), commercial radio, and in Internet broadcasting.

They both began DJing when they were teens. John Miller started at commercial station KWNE in Ukiah and had his trial by fire when he had to stand in for the regular DJ (who was stuck in jail). He said that from then on he "got hooked" on radio and eventually became inspired by comedy, then Internet broadcasting. He's been involved with many stations since then, including a gig at All Comedy Radio on KPHX 1250AM in Phoenix which aired on 271 stations globally (including South Africa). Additionally, he's been the technical brains being a variety of stations and helped to set up a new LPFM station in Arizona: KWSS. Along with John Hell he helped Pirate Cat Radio build their new studio as well.

John Hell's DJ career started with him spinning tunes at the Ice Capades ice skating rink in Foster City. He went on to DJ at weddings and events, worked at college stations KCSM and KFJC (where he DJ'd for nearly 10 years under the moniker The Reverend Dah Wave), and was part of the crew that started Radio Free Burning Man before he joined SF Liberation Radio and Pirate Cat Radio.


John Miller told me that he'd always dreamed of doing comedy radio in the San Francisco Bay Area and was inspired by the morning show hosted by Alex Bennett back in the 1980s and 1990s on a series of stations including KMEL, KQAK and Live 105. Bennett's show at the time (he's now on Sirius satellite radio) was characterized by a regular stable of comedian guests and a live audience. John's passion for comedy comes through in the current lineup of programming on FCCFreeRadio. He's hosting a morning show that's in the spirit of the old Alex Bennett show and has a programmer on staff who is dedicated to filling the comedy shifts.


Currently FCCFreeRadio is working to recruit DJs and fill up its 2-hour shifts. They have 17 hosts and 16 shows right now in addition to John Miller's weekday morning show (Monday to Friday from 6-10am) with comedian Susan Maletta. When there is no live DJ the station runs automated music programming culled from top hits of the past several decades. John Hell was quick to point out that the automated programming is a temporary solution and isn't necessarily reflective of the more adventurous airsound that they are going for with live DJs. They hope to eventually provide live programming 24 hours a day, but for now are focusing on filling up drive-time shifts. To get a sense of some of the music programming, take a look at John Hell's archived playlists on his website.


Most of the DJs at the station have extensive radio experience already, so on-air training is pretty limited. To get a show, people are required to submit a proposal and upon approval they are trained on the equipment and given a run-down on the short list of rules (don't swear, play station promos, say the station name, and give out the studio number).

DJs at FCCFreeRadio are expected to pay monthly dues and attend monthly staff meetings. Those with music shows must bring their own music since there is no music library. Currently the studio supports the playback of CDs, mp3s, and music from laptops. John Hell told me that any money left over from staff dues will get used for projects at the station, including studio improvements like new equipment and better soundproofing. Being a low budget operation, they are also soliciting help from listeners in the form of underwriting, equipment donations, and real estate (do you live atop a mountain? they need a better spot for their transmitter).


Even with their limited resources and space, FCCFreeRadio has already taken on some interesting projects, including a live remote from a nearby auditorium. DJs regularly have in-studio guests, ranging from musicians to comedians to artists.

In my interviews with John and John I learned more about the mission of FCCFreeRadio, where they fit in to the overall radio landscape in San Francisco, and why they chose a slot on the commercial side of the dial:


Spinning Indie: What's the overall mission of your station?

John Miller: I would say to your question to the over all mission of FCCFREERADIO is to provide a place for community radio. All the staff will be doing something each week that will link their show to the community. We are putting the local back into radio.

John Hell: This is something that is ever evolving, but I know it's safe to say that part of our mission is to serve the SF community that we broadcast out of. We want to pay attention to the concerns of the neighborhood, and we strive towards being a voice for those in the neighborhood that have no voice. With that being said, we also believe that music programming should be challenging as well. We don't believe that we should be playing the "hits," from any genre or era. There are plenty of other stations in the bay area that are doing this.

We've asked the staff to take the next few weeks to think about the mission. We plan on putting it in writing and on our website within a few months. Check back.



Spinning Indie: How do you differentiate yourselves from other low power, community, and college radio stations?

John Miller: Well this question is one that I have never thought about, at least to the point that should matter. I have built a LPFM because I was without a home for my program. That's where it started... after that I am just running a station like I would run any other LPFM station. I just want my hosts to be on the top of their game, with all hosts working each week to do better for themselves and their programs.

John Hell: There is plenty of room in this largely populated and diverse bay area for many non-commercial, LPFM's. Our station is personality driven. Most of our staffers have at least 10 years radio experience; many have over 20 years experience. John Miller and I have a passion for radio as done in the days of KMPX/KSAN's "Big Daddy" Tom Donahue, KYA's Emperor Gene Nelson and Bob Mitchell; and of course the King of Pirate Radio, Wolfman Jack.

FCCFreeRadio's show log

Spinning Indie: Were you influenced/inspired by any existing radio stations?

John Miller: Well, all but 2 morning hosts are gone from the airwaves in SF. I grew up to Alex Bennett for my morning show (My program The John Miller Program with Susan Maletta has the foundation of The Alex Bennett Program with Lisa Thompson.) From KOME.... Dennis Erectus, One of the kings of working the FCC.

From KSJO Lamont and Tonelli. They have somehow been on the air in the Bay Area for over 25 years. I am personal friends with both and back in the day helped with live remotes when I could.

Last, well maybe not the last, but the last for this list...Tom Leykis. He owned afternoon drive for years and before they put him on FM he owned AM. Shame to see the talent of yesteryear not on the air.

John Hell: I was influenced by the '80s morning show of Frazer Smith, of KLOS in LA, and M. Dung of KFOG. Dung also hosted the Sunday Night Idiot Show, which he would sometimes do live at Wolfgang's (owned by the late rock impresario Wolfgang Bill Graham). I would attend those live shows as often as I could.

View into a Phantom Studio

Spinning Indie: Can you explain a bit more about how you selected 107.3 FM?

John Miller: Well I did not want to be down in the basement so I have always been on the upper side of the dial doing my radio program. So with that I went looking and found 107.3 FM was open for San Francisco proper. With that I liked being between CBS's KCBS and Cumulus station The Bone. Both huge stations with a very broad group that tune in.

The Ubiquitous Radio Station Couch

Thanks again to John Miller and John Hell for showing me around FCCFreeRadio. And kudos to them for believing in the power of local radio!


Previous Spinning Indie Radio Station Field Trips:

Field Trip to WECB at Emerson College
College Radio Field Trip 2 - Cal Poly's KCPR
College Radio Field Trip 3 - Notre Dame's WVFI
Radio Station Field Trip 4 - WFMU in Jersey City
Radio Station Field Trip 5 - East Village Radio in NYC
Radio Station Field Trip 6 - WNYU in New York City
Radio Station Field Trip 7 - Northwestern's WNUR
Radio Station Field Trip 8 - Stanford's KZSU
Radio Station Field Trip 9 - University of San Francisco's KUSF
Radio Station Field Trip 10 - Santa Clara University Station KSCU
Radio Station Field Trip 11 - UC Berkeley's KALX
Radio Station Field Trip 12 - KSJS at San Jose State University
Radio Station Field Trip 13 - WBAR at Barnard College
Radio Station Field Trip 14 - KFJC at Foothill College
Radio Station Field Trip 15 - UC Santa Cruz Station KZSC
Radio Station Field Trip 16 - Haverford College Station WHRC

College Radio Debate Continues at WUDR

A few weeks ago I wrote about an opinion piece that discussed programming changes at a college radio station in Ohio. The author talked about how University of Dayton station WUDR (aka "Flyer Radio") created rigid programming rules in response to fears about FCC crackdowns. This was disappointing to him, as he felt like the station had become blander.

Another piece this week provides the perspective of a current DJ, who argues that station management had to standardize programming because of DJs who repeatedly flaunted FCC rules, thereby risking the station's license (which religious groups were chomping at the bit over). John Bedell writes:

"...They had to standardize the programming because of some knuckleheads who thought they could swear on the air and play whatever kind of music they wanted regardless of lyrics. We've been warned as DJ's for the last two years that if the language- both spoken and broadcast through songs- did not improve then there were going to be some changes in order to keep WUDR. But a handful of hard-headed DJ's continued to play and say whatever they wanted on the air. Since the stern reminders didn't seem to sink in with the staff, here we find ourselves."


If that's the case, it's really disappointing that DJs refused to follow simple FCC guidelines and put their station at risk. I don't know enough about the new programming rules to decide if they were an over-reaction or not.

Regardless, the debate continues, and this week there's another opinion piece. This one, written by a former Music Director of the station, gets to the heart of what people might think the essence of "college radio" is and whether or not "rules" about what gets played (or not played) are in the best interest of the airsound.

In the article, Paul Barbatano writes about how in his day, DJs went through an application process and were "screened" for having broad music taste before getting on the air:


"...I was the Music Director of Flyer Radio as an undergraduate long ago in the dark ages when Flyer Radio was a small, untidy, smelly pit above the KU dining hall and not its new ultra-swanky digs at the ArtStreet complex. When I was music director we carefully (to the best of my knowledge since I chose a majority of them) screened each and every DJ application to ensure we were 'hiring' the best, most creative people for DJ shifts. "Best" in this case meaning those who included a wide variety of musicians and bands on their applications."

He goes on to argue that DJs should have complete freedom to play whatever they want and that a station that screens music is "oppressive." According to Paul:


"To think that a 'college radio' station should ever in any way limit what is played on the air is in my opinion, completely unheard of. The entire point of 'college radio' is to play a wide variety of eclectic musical selections unhindered by any type of screening process. The notion that all songs have been pre-approved is totally insane to me and should be for anyone who actually wants to listen to radio free of oppressive control; George Orwell knew a thing or two about that. I've tried my best to listen to Flyer Radio in its current state and have heard lots of inane chatter about sports teams, Led Zeppelin, and dead air."


He also points out that in his day the station tried to emulate WFMU and WNUR and that college radio should be "incredibly inconsistent and varied." He writes:


"When I was music director my assistant and I were attempting to emulate major 'college radio' stations like WFMU and WNUR, radio stations that define exactly what it is 'college radio' should sound like, incredibly inconsistent and varied and leaning towards things you'd never hear anywhere else. Good luck finding something "different" if you listen to Flyer Radio now."


Personally, I don't think it's a bad thing to have some sort of screening process in place for music (isn't that the job of the Music Director?), so that a station has some sort of point-of-view. I prefer stations that screen in the "indie" direction, aiming to present artists that do not get airplay elsewhere. But, I also agree that the amazing thing about college radio is the opportunity for DJs to select their own music for their shows. I think it's still possible to have a creative, freeform station with some musical guidelines. It doesn't sound like that's happening at Flyer Radio, which is too bad.

What do you think? What kinds of rules does your station have? Do rules help or hurt the airsound?

Spinning Indie 50 State Tour: Stop 1 - Arkansas station KXUA

As part of my on-going mission to explore college radio stations from every corner of the U.S., I'm pleased to present the first installment of the Spinning Indie 50 State Tour. Every week (keep your fingers crossed), I'll be interviewing stations from each of the 50 states. I'm selecting a variety of stations that have caught my eye, in order to share their stories and remind people that there's a whole lot of cool stuff going on in college radio all over the country, from small towns to big cities.

The first station on my 50 state virtual tour is KXUA-FM from University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. I found out about KXUA when I learned that long-time Spinning Indie reader and former KSCL-FM General Manager "voice of Schleuss" had recently joined the station. Coincidentally, Barsuk Records GM Wes Howerton (featured this week on CMJ's staff blog) is also a KXUA alum and former Music Director.

KXUA has been broadcasting on FM since 2000, but it took years of work for the organization to acquire the frequency. As an homage to their struggles, they launched the station on April Fools and played nothing but political speeches on that inaugural day of broadcasting. In the years prior to that there were other radio stations, different call letters, and a student station that has been NPR-affiliate KUAF since 1986. In my interview with Station Manager Stuart Feild, he talks a bit about their struggles to get on the air (including their battles with radio-hungry religious groups), KXUA's programming philosophy, their searchable music archive, what happened to their old vinyl, and how they decide what music gets added to the station.

Image from KXUA blog

By the way, if you live in Arkansas, KXUA is holding a carnival this weekend with clowns, fire blowing, magic, and a chance to make your own radio station T-shirt. Sounds fun! You can learn more on the KXUA blog, which also has station news, charts, and links to podcasts.

Thanks so much to Stuart for taking the time to talk to me about KXUA. You can tune into his freeform show on Sunday afternoons or download one of his podcasts.


Spinning Indie: What's the overall mission/programming philosophy of KXUA?

Stuart: The mission statement at the founding of KXUA was to bring eclectic music to the North West Arkansas, that is music that is not and can not be provided by commercial radio. Our policy is that we do not air any tracks that have been in the billboard hot 100 in the last 50 years. Since becoming station manager I have strived to expand that goal beyond simply music and into anything audible we can possibly push over the airwaves that isn't on other stations. Radio plays, poetry, interviews with interesting people, we even do straight sound effects shows sometimes. I'm willing to work with anyone who has an idea for some new and different use for radio and sound.

Spinning Indie: Your station has been around since 2000, but radio has existed for much longer at University of Arkansas. Any favorite tidbits from your path towards getting your FM license?

Stuart: Well I wasn't around when the station was founded, but from what I understand there was a pretty nasty battle with the Christian fascist network over our spot on the dial. They now bookend our station with two stations, and I get some pleasure in knowing that people trying to tune into them have probably accidentally landed on us and hopefully become fans. It took the founders two long years to get KXUA on the air and I always try and keep them and their struggle in my mind with every decision we have to make. I always want to honor and protect their wishes for what they wanted our station to be, and I hope future station managers and executive boards can do the same.

Spinning Indie: Do you continue to celebrate April Fools at the station after your inaugural music-free day in 2000?

Stuart: We usually have a "Birthday Bash" in the Spring but we have not had a repeat of the original no music day. However, it's a good idea!

Spinning Indie: What's the longest running show/DJ at the station? When did the show/DJ first go on the air?

Stuart: The Digital Earthquake, which features electronic music...has been airing on Sunday nights and hosted by Bo Counts since the very beginning of the station. He's actually the only person that's still around that has been with the station since it's inception. He was station manager twice (no one else has done that that I know of) and has since graduated and now works for the University.

We have a few shows that I like to refer to as "legacy shows" that have been around since the beginning but have changed names, hosts, and time slots several times over the years. The Concrete Schoolyard is our hip hop show and it's been around forever and has been all over the schedule and had dozens of hosts. The Gutter is our punk and thrash show, it's been on Saturdays forever but gone by various names and hosts, Down By The Old Main Stream is our Rock n'Roll history show and it's always been on Sunday afternoons. Thunder Mountain is the metal show and it's been on several night and had lots of different hosts and names. etc etc. I guess basically we have a couple of genres that we want to make sure are always covered by genre DJs and it's just a matter of who is willing to do them.

Spinning Indie: Did your station inherit anything from the other campus stations (eg old records)?

Stuart: We used to have a massive record collection that we inherited from KRZR. Space is a constant problem for us and we hardly have room for our 3000+ CD archive. The records were in storage and not accessible to DJs anyway so they ended up being sold off. I ended up getting quite a few DEVO records, which was awesome. Hopefully we can find enough space to keep storing CDs cause everyone is pretty opposed to going all digital.

Spinning Indie: Do you have any specific programs/specialty shows that are unique to KXUA or stand out as being different from anything else on radio?

Stuart: Oh yeah, I'd say every show is unique to our market. No one is playing spoken word/poetry, black metal, or real punk rock. Just go down our programming schedule, you won't find any of it on any other station. We are kind of lucky that way. If you want something different we are it.

Spinning Indie: Is there certain music that DJs are required to play? Is there anything that DJs aren't allowed to play?

Stuart: We have around 90 CDs in "rotation" at any time. This is divided into heavy, medium, and light. "Rotation DJs", who come in between 6am and 6pm are required to play 5 tracks out of heavy, 3 of medium, 2 of light every hour and then whatever else they want (as long as it's an eclectic mix). Rotation is chosen by our music board, who review all the music that comes in. We accept music from anyone, but usually less than 10% they deem good enough to keep. Other than that we only require that our DJs abide by FCC foul language rules, and only because we have to.

Spinning Indie: How does your MD decide what music to add? What's your philosophy about indie vs. major label? Do you add material by major labels? If yes, why? If no, why?

Stuart: I think I answered most of this in the last question. Our goal is to get things on the air that aren't there already there, so often there is no reason for us to play some major release cause it can be heard on all the other stations. If it's a major release that we like and it's getting no play elsewhere we might consider it. The reissue of Laurie Anderson's "Big Science" comes to mind, it was in our heavy rotation for a while but got no play on other stations.

Spinning Indie: Do you add and play a lot of vinyl?

Stuart: Not a lot. We have turn tables, and a lot DJs bring records in, but we usually
don't require anyone to play records unless it's something that is only on vinyl and there is some malicious person on music board that is just insistent that something that is only available on vinyl must go into rotation.

Spinning Indie: Do most students at University of Arkansas know about the station? Do a lot of students listen to the station? Is the staff/DJs mostly students?

Stuart: Most people don't know about the station, but it's not because we aren't constantly spreading the word! It's just under most people radar, and we probably operate a lot better that way cause we can do whatever we want. It's hard to tell how many people are listening since radio is a passive medium and there is no way to survey that other than seeing how many people will call in when we give out the number on the air for whatever reason. DJs are mostly students, we have a few faculty and staff members with shows. The staff is all students, and our constitution is pretty clear that it must be, other wise we wouldn't be "student run radio".

Spinning Indie: It's amazing that you can view your music library, current & light rotation releases from your website. Does this represent your entire record library?

Stuart: Yes, our entire archive is searchable on our website. About a year ago we started a blog and there was some debate about whether we would be abandoning the old website, but it works so well that we have decided to keep them both.

Spinning Indie: How much of the schedule is automated programming? How do you come up with the music for that?

Stuart: We try and have as little automation as possible, ideal none. In fact we are currently looking for DJs to fill the 12am-5am hours. In the past the philosophy about automation was that it should sound bad, to encourage DJs to do their show. Well, I thought that was the stupidest thinking ever. Why anyone would think the station should ever sound bad is beyond me. When I got on the exec board one of my major goals was to fix automation. We now keep it up to date with current rotation, as well as tons of music from the back catalog. We keep it loaded up with old PSAs, old commercials, old time radio shows, short syndicated programs, and sound effects, anything to keep the station interesting while there isn't a live person there.

Spinning Indie: Do you listen to other college radio stations? Who do you admire?

Stuart: I love WFMU in New Jersey. It used to be a college station but now manages to be a commercial free independent station. I get a lot of inspiration from them and the things they have done with radio. In fact their blog is what inspired me to start the KXUA blog and I've tried to model it after their style.


Stay tuned. The next stop on the Spinning Indie 50 State Tour is a college radio station in Wisconsin.

FCC Fear Creating Blander College Radio?

I've heard rumors over the years about groups that have taken a strong interest in acquiring new radio frequencies and will go to any means necessary in order to bump existing stations off the air. I've been at stations where there's been fear that there are people out there who are specifically listening to college radio in order to catch a station airing FCC violations. According to lore, these groups will then report stations to the FCC in the hopes that they will ultimately be fined and shut down, providing an opportunity for said group to steal the college station's FM frequency.

I'm not sure if this ever happens, but there's an interesting opinion piece in the University of Dayton student newspaper Flyer News that addresses this topic. A former DJ at WUDR (FlyerRadio), writes about his displeasure over programming changes at the station that he believes were prompted by FCC fears. In "Flyer Radio Has Lost What It Means To Be College Station" he writes:


"I Am A Former Show Host At The Radio Station On Artstreet...I Had My Own Supply Of Records, Cds And Ruckus Downloads To Choose From And Play At Will. It Was A Beautiful Job For A Music Lover Like Me.


Sadly, This Can No Longer Be The Case. Outside Pressures Have Been Trying To Take One Of Our Frequencies By Any Means Necessary, Calling 'foul' Toward Anything Potentially Inappropriate To The Fcc. To Correct This, The Station Has Effectively Removed The Personal And Eclectic Tastes Of Music That One Tends To Expect From A College Radio Station. They Have Asked That The Radio Personalities To Choose What They Play From A Pre-determined Play List, Compiled Of Rock, Pop, And Rap Music (which Were The Top Three Genres Chosen In A Recent Survey). I Know For A Fact That My Show Could Never Fit Inside The Bounds Of Rock, Pop And Rap Music, No Matter How Broad Or Generalized Those Genres Could Become. Trust Me, Moving From Dijerido's And Gregorian Chants And Romanian Techno To "soulja Boy" And "i Kissed Something" And "i'm So Rich, Buy My Album" Music..."


The author goes on to argue that the programming changes have led to a much blander radio station that veers away from its essential "college radio" roots. It's hard to know what precipitated these changes, other than a student survey. According to the WUDR website:


"We are currently reformatting our station's music play list, but expect to hear everything you love! We'll bring you all the greats from the top pop, rock, and hip hop/R&B artists!"


Not everyone is opposed to this format change and you can read another student opinion piece in support of the station's decision to narrow their playlist.

Where Was the First College Radio Station in the U.S.?

The history of college radio has always been a bit confusing to me, since its early days were marked by DIY experiments that weren't regulated or necessarily documented. Today I saw a post by someone trying to track down the identity of the very first college radio station in the U.S. and this post reminded me that I have heard conflicting reports about who claims this distinction.

On his Times-Union blog Class Conflict, grad student Brandon Mendelson writes:

"I’m attempting to figure out if: 1) Union College does indeed have the first college radio station. Wikipedia confirms this, as does the motto for their station, “The First Station in The Nation”... 2) If the FCC does differentiate between wireless and broadcast transmissions. I think it does, but if it doesn’t, that opens up the question as to whether or not UAlbany’s wireless transmissions from the physics department would qualify the station for being older than Unions."

I'd heard about Union College's claims before, but recently I also learned about another contender that had never been on my radar before: St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. According to St. Joseph's University radio station WSJR's website, "WSJR has always been a pioneer; it opened the first college radio station on AM in 1922. In the 80's, it moved to FM radio. Following a hiatus, WSJR now broadcasts exclusively on the Internet."

The National Radio Club website also has the following radio tidbits (excerpted from 1981's Famous First Facts by Joseph Nathan Kane):


"In the United States, the first. . .

EXPERIMENTAL RADIO LICENSE issued by the Department of Commerce following the International Radio Convention and Radio Act of 1912 (37 stat. l. 302), August 13, 1912, was serial number 1, granted St. Joseph's College, Philadelphia, Pa. (3XJ, 2 kilowatts)...

COLLEGE RADIO STATION was WRUC, Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., which went on the air October 14, 1920. It instituted a series of weekly programs on October 15, 1920, consisting of vocal and instrumental phonograph records. The programs were broadcast from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with a three-minute interval. They were initially heard within a 50-mile radius; this increased under favorable weather conditions. A 5 50-watt U-2 transmitter was used. Frederick L. Ganter was President of the Radio Club of Union College; Wendell W. Key, the chief engineer, and Francis J. Candle, the chief operator. The station was owned by the trustees of the college.

EDUCATIONAL RADIO STATION LICENSED was WOI, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, which received the call letters 9Y1 (375 meters frequency, using 100 watts) on November 21, 1921. On April 28, 1922, the station was granted a license to broadcast on 360 meters (834 kc.) using 1000 watts...."


So, clearly there are many different ways for college radio stations to be "first" on the scene. We've covered Union College and St. Joseph's University, so here's a bit more about the history of radio at Iowa State. According to the WOI website history section:


"The history of broadcasting at Iowa State University dates back to 1911. That is when physics professor Dad Hoffman rigged a transmission line from the campus water tower to Engineering Hall and asked for money to establish a wireless telegraph station. In 1914 the electrical engineering department of Iowa State College installed and began operation of a small transmitter under the call letters 9YI. Newspaper reports from 1913 indicate station 9YI was regularly sending and receiving weather reports by Morse code. In 1915 the engineers took the show on the road and took the amazing technology to the Iowa State Fair."


Additionally, Louis M. Bloch, the author of "The Gas Pipe Networks: A History of College Radio 1936-1946," argues that Brown University was one of the originators of college radio. The RadioActivity blog provides a nice summary of this claim in a post from January 2008 (scroll down to catch it). Indeed, Brown University has done a nice job documenting their radio history, as I wrote about earlier this year in my post "From Gas Pipes to Websites: College Radio History Project at Brown."

So, what do you think...which of these is the REAL first college radio station? Definitely hard to say.

Morningside College Radio Station Turns 30, Changes Frequency

There's a nice article on Quad Cities Online today, profiling college radio station KMSC from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. According to "Sioux City Listeners Tune In to College Radio," KMSC recently had to change its FM frequency from 88.3 to 92.9 because of the appearance of a more powerful Catholic radio station on a nearby frequency. Although the station seems to be doing just fine, it's kind of a bummer that they were off the air for 6 months while they awaited FCC approval for a new place on the dial and missed their official 30th anniversary date. The article states:

"...the station missed its official 30th birthday in March, which disappointed KMSC student general manager Matt Wilmes. 'KMSC first went on the air in the spring of 1978, but we'll now be celebrating our birthday in October,' he said. 'We'll be commemorating the event by playing our top 500 songs in a 36-hour marathon broadcast.'"

The station has a "college alternative" format during the day and prides itself on playing new music before it hits mainstream stations. Additionally, they air specialty shows, broadcast sporting events and will soon offer video streaming of football game highlights on their website.

New College Radio Station to Harken Back to 1970s

A community college in North Carolina just got approval for a new college radio station, whose format has yet to be determined. Part of the goal, though, is to bring radio back to what it was in the 1970s. I'm not sure what that means...but perhaps, simply, radio before massive consolidation. According to an article on Saturday in the Rocky Mount Telegram:

"...Nash Community College is in the process of bringing its own radio station to its students and the community, Amy McCurdy Davis-Moore, a college faculty member who formerly worked in commercial radio at WSAY-98.5 in Rocky Mount and marketing, told Rocky Mount Kiwanis Club members Thursday...

Rapid growth in technology is the reason for a lot of consolidation of radio stations, Davis-Moore said, and the absence of locally owned radio stations has left a hole in the community.

Nash Community College applied for its license and expected the process to take 18 months to two years. Three months after applying with the Federal Communications Commission, a license was granted, Davis-Moore said.

'Our vision is to take the college's radio station back to the 1970s and provide programming that matters to students, the community and business owners – folks who actually make this community run'...

The station, yet to receive its call letters, will be FM 89.1 on the radio dial. The station will begin airing on the Internet in August.

'In the summer of 2010, our signal will be received on car radios,' Davis-Moore said."

That's pretty cool that this college was able to acquire an FCC license so quickly and it will be interesting to see what they come up with format-wise.

George Carlin College Radio Memory

It was sad to hear that comedian George Carlin died this week. I remember listening to him with my parents when I was young and the one routine that sticks in my head was about gross things in the back of the refrigerator, containing the great line "could be meat, could be cake...meat cake."

But....like many who've been in college radio, George Carlin will forever be immortalized in my mind for the seven dirty words that were said out loud (but never over the air) repeatedly during radio training classes for my FCC license (back in the day when individual DJs needed licenses). Some of those words are now heard on broadcast TV, but still feel like "no no's" to me since they're on that list that I've had ingrained in my head for so many years thanks to Mr. Carlin.

So, it was kind of cool to find this blog post from a guy who remembered hearing George Carlin on his campus-only college radio station.

Rags writes:

"I bought his debut album, for which he received the Grammy (and on his second elpee you can hear his reaction as that performance was taped for that album, interrupting the routine that would later get him to the Supreme Court) and went to see him with Sally Mary Atkins with whom I was madly in love for a semester while I was at Rutgers and she went to Boston College. Actually we didn't see him in the student center in New Brunswick because the performance was sold out ten times over but the campus radio station, WRSU-FM, and its program director, my classmate Bob Berman, received permission to 'broadcast' it through the university's buildings (the radio station had no transmitters nor license so there was never a danger children might hear George say words on the radio that their parent said during arguments in their living rooms. Thank goodness!)."

Do you have any George Carlin radio memories? Does your station still ban the same 7 words from his famous routine?

Death of Urban Radio Part 3 from FMC

Eric K. Arnold's series "The Effects of Media Consolidation on Urban Radio" concludes today on the Future of Music Coalition blog with the third installment. Towards the end of the piece Eric discusses where artists and fans can seek out urban and local music since commercial radio has mostly turned its back on local musicians. He writes:

"...many artists are turning to user-generated content and social networking sites like YouTube and MySpace to find their fans and post their music or videos, while listeners starved for content and substance can log on to Breakdown FM or stream Hard Knock Radio online. Another buzzworthy outlet is Current TV, which is making an increased commitment to covering urban music and trends in their mini-documentary 'pods.'

Still another option is low-power FM radio, which doesn’t offer the cachet (or advertising dollars) of commercial radio, but is affordable, accessible, and locally available. Recently, there have been encouraging signs that the FCC and Congress will remove caps preventing LPFM stations in urban markets, a condition originally imposed by powerful commercial broadcasters."

He also implores radio listeners to voice their opinions and concerns to commercial stations and the FCC in order to encourage radio to cover local events and play more local music and community affairs programming. Likewise, college and community radio stations can be encouraged to do their part in representing the local scene.

You can read my other posts about this FMC series here and here.

College DJ Loses Show Over Raunchy Antics

College radio station WMSC 90.3 FM at Montclair State University in New Jersey faces possible FCC fines after alleged illicit activity from the station made its way online. According to the AP story on Philly.com:

"[Randy] Rogers and a fellow DJ, who calls himself Jay Jay Smooth, are under investigation by the university for a show on WMSC-FM that may have included naked women, lap dancing and other sex acts. The show was pulled from the air this week when videos, apparently from a February event called the Kinky Olympics, surfaced online showing raunchy activities that may have occurred inside the college-owned studio...Minne Ho, a university spokeswoman, said the students may face expulsion from the school and the station could face fines from the Federal Communications Commission."

The DJ involved plans to continue a tamer version of his show online. It always strikes me as annoying and selfish when DJs put their stations at risk for FCC fines, since expensive fines can cripple low-budget college radio and jeopardize a station's future. I'm sympathetic to things that are FCC gray areas (and there are many, including playing specific song lyrics and dirty words), but if these allegations are true, this DJ was doing things that clearly fit into the banned indecency/obscenity categories. From the station's online schedule it looks like the show aired from 7-10pm, typically not considered "safe harbor" for more salacious material.

The article also mentions that:


"The school also is considering plans to remove control of the radio station from the student government and place it under the control of an independent board...Earlier this year, university administrators moved to separate the school's student newspaper from its student government after the Student Government Association cut off funding for the paper after a dispute over articles critical of closed meetings."


I can't believe this stuff about the Student Government's interference in campus media. I wonder what their involvement with the radio station has been?

You can read about the history of freeform station WMSC (originally WVMS) on Wikipedia, including the story of a 27-hour broadcast they did on WFMU in 1967 in order to gain more exposure for the station.

Community Radio on KPOO, Ozcat, and perhaps People of Progress

A few recent articles on community radio stations highlight the great variety of stations out there with very specific programming philosophies for their local listeners.

KPOO 89.5 FM San Francisco
BeyondChron did a piece on low-power community radio station KPOO 89.5 FM and its recent benefit fundraiser. According to the article, KPOO was "the first Black-owned, noncommercial radio station west of the Mississippi when the low powered frequency kicked off in 1973..." KPOO's website states, "KPOO gives voice to the concerns of low income communities in San Francisco. Founded by Poor People's Radio, Inc., KPOO's ongoing mission has been to open the airwaves to the disenfranchised and underserved." They air a variety of music and public affairs programming and according to their website, "KPOO was the first Bay Area station to play rap, salsa, and reggae music. In 1983 KPOO was the first station on the west coast to broadcast an 'all rap' show. KPOO was also first to air Irish, Palestinian, Filipino, gay, veterans, women's and prisoner rights programming." Impressive, but I always wonder how we can really know which station was the first to air certain songs, bands, and genres of music, as many make similar claims.

Ozcat Radio-1670AM in Vallejo, California
Ozcat Radio is an all volunteer non-profit, non-commercial station playing indie and local artists. They say they are "eclectic and free-form" and that they help support/promote community events and non-profits. They are applying for a non-commercial FM license for a 100 watt station, but currently operate with low power on AM using a "...1-watt legal unlicensed low-power AM antenna..." The station was founded in 2006 by musician David Martin and his wife after their own frustrations about the difficulty of getting Martin's music played on commercial radio. According to their website, "The Martins decided to...create a company where artists would find encouragement, assistance and local radio airplay..."

Redding, California Community Radio in the Pipeline?
A Redding nonprofit People of Progress (which began 30+ years ago as a food co-op) applied for an FM license during the Fall 2007 application window and some folks in the community are optimistic, while others wonder about its agenda...as evidenced by the comments attached to these articles in the local press.

Future of Music Coalition's Series on Community Radio Applicants

The Future of Music Coalition (FMC) is an amazing organization and their website is full of great information about radio. They are supporters of non-profit, non-commercial radio and worked with other organizations (including the low-power FM advocacy group Prometheus Radio Project) on Radio for People to encourage cultural and arts groups to apply for FCC radio licenses last fall. In January they began a series of blog postings about the flurry of full-power non-commercial FM license applications in October (according to FMC, the FCC hadn't accepted new non-commercial FM license applications since prior to 2000) and provide a good overview of the whole process. According to the post:

"The FCC accepted roughly 3,200 applications from October 12-22, according to Public Radio Capital. Nearly 40 percent of those applications came from community and public radio groups, according to a statistical sampling analysis performed by PRC. The rest came from religious groups, including those Christian broadcasters that already operate large networks of stations all over the country and are eager to acquire even more. Last fall, the FCC decided to accept a maximum of just ten applications from each applicant; if the cap hadn’t been put in place, religious megacasters would have no doubt kept submitting. (At least 49 groups whose name includes 'Calvary Chapel' filed during the window.)"


FMC has profiled several stations who have applied for licenses, including the North Fork Angling Society in Colorado and the Hare Krishna community of New Vrindaban in West Virginia and will continue to highlight radio station applicants on their blog. They also include a link to the complete list of organizations that applied for FM licenses in Fall 2007...it's nice to see that there are some colleges/universities on the list.